title: On the Markovian approach for modeling the dynamics of nosocomial infections.
abstract: We analyze the dynamics of nosocomial infections in intensive care units (ICUs) by using a Markov chain model. Since population size in the ICU is small, in contrast to previous studies, we concentrate on the analytical solution rather than using simulation. We investigate how changes in the system parameters affect to some important behavioral indicators of the spread of the pathogen. We also present an exact measure of the number of secondary cases of infection produced by one colonized patient.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mathematics, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain, jesus_artalejo@mat.ucm.es.
authors.forename: Jesus R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Artalejo
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008390:Markov Chains; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011159:Population Surveillance; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology